Mithat Can Kartlaşmış 
Fed announced the interest rate decision. There is a lot of movement in the market following the announcement of the interest rate decision. Jerome Powell stood in front of the cameras after the announced interest rate decision.
Finally, the Fed interest rate decision, eagerly awaited by the cryptocurrency and traditional markets, was announced. As expected, the FED kept interest rates steady and the FOMC is not thinking of cutting rates until inflation returns to target.
This was Bitcoin’s initial reaction after the decision:
Following the Interest Rate Decision, Powell’s Comments:
At the press conference following the interest rate decision, Jerome Powell said, “We believe that it would be appropriate to start lowering interest rates this year if the economic outlook continues as expected.” Powell stated that they do not expect an interest rate cut in March and they will not have enough confidence for a rate cut until March.
Powell, repeating the comment that inflation has slowed but is still high, went onto state, “We are seeing the effect of monetary tightening on inflation.”
Highlights from Powell’s speech include:
“We’re not anticipating more interest rate hikes. The interest rate might have peaked. The Committee doesn’t want to start cutting interest rates without inflation reaching the 2% target in a sustainable manner. It would be appropriate to take a step back from monetary tightening at some point this year. Almost every participant on the monetary policy board believes that it would be appropriate to lower interest rates this year. The timing of the interest rate cut will depend on the confidence in inflation. We are in ‘risk management’ mode to prevent moving too early or too late in monetary policy. The biggest risk is inflation stabilizing above 2%. We can’t say that we’ve achieved a soft landing, but developments are encouraging.”
The median view of FED officials regarding the long-term funding rate was 2.6% (previous 2.5%). The median forecast for the end of 2025 was 3.9% (previous 3.6%), and for the end of 2024 it was 4.6%.
Oxford Economics’ Chief US Economist Ryan Sweet, in a report to investors on Monday, said, “The FED emphasized that it needs more evidence that inflation is on a sustainable path toward the 2% target before lowering interest rates, and will not change its forward-guiding directions.”
You can freely share your thoughts and comments about the topic in the comment section. Additionally, please don’t forget to follow us on our Telegram ,YouTube and Twitter channels for the latest news.